The Iranian Red Crescent Society (IRCS) says it has dispatched a consignment of 40 tonnes of humanitarian assistance to those affected by flash flooding in eastern Libya.
The IRCS President Pirhossein Kolivand said on Saturday that the humanitarian cargo contained relief tents, blankets, moquette, sanitary items and food packages which was sent to help the flood-hit victims in Libya.
He added that three IRCS rescue and relief teams were also dispatched to Libya to help and distribute the items.
Kolivand noted that the IRCS shoulders a “humanitarian and religious” duty to help the victims of incidents and the needy.
The IRCS, as a member of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, carries out all it can to help the victims of accidents around the world, he said.
According to Libyan Red Crescent, at least 11,300 people have lost their lives and another 10,100 are missing, after Mediterranean Storm Daniel hit the North African country earlier in the week.
The northeastern city of Derna is the worst affected, where heavy rainfall led to the collapse of two dams, wiping out a quarter of the area and sweeping bodies out to sea.
According to local officials, the port city has been declared a disaster zone, with electricity and communication having been cut off.
In a letter to President of Libyan Red Crescent Society Omar Agouda on September 11, Kolivand said the IRCS is ready to “send humanitarian relief consignment, relief items as well as dispatch the medical and relief teams to assist the flood affected people and humanitarian operation in Libya.”
Meanwhile, in a message addressed to Libyan Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah on September 12, Iranian President Ebrahim Raeisi also voiced Tehran’s readiness to send relief aid and provide medical assistance and supplies to flood-hit Libya.
“The government of the Islamic Republic of Iran expresses its readiness to send relief aid and dispatch medical assistance and supplies to [flood-] stricken areas,” Raeisi wrote, while offering condolences to the Libyan nation.
